Taxi Driver Suspected of Self-Immolation Attempt to Protest Carpooling Service

Another taxi driver has apparently attempted to set fire to himself amid ongoing talks between the taxi industry and Kakao Mobility over the company’s planned carpooling service.

The 62-year-old driver was found inside a burning taxi in front of the National Assembly in Seoul on Monday afternoon. The man, identified only by his surname Kim, was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for non-life threatening second-degree burns.

According to police, his smoke-filled taxi was heading toward the main gate of the parliament from across the street before it collided with another vehicle.

The driver, an executive member of a taxi industry union, was known to have frequented the funeral home of a fellow taxi driver who set himself ablaze in December in protest of the carpooling service.

Police suspect this latest case was an attempted self-immolation, but are continuing an investigation into the exact cause of the accident.